Tony Curtis was a Hollywood icon in the mid-20th century, when he was the darkly handsome star of movies including The Sweet Smell of Success (1957, with Burt Lancaster) and the raucous cross-dressing comedy Some Like it Hot (1959, with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe). Curtis started out on the studio payroll, appearing in dramas and costumers until capturing a lead role in 1951's The Prince Who Was a Thief. He turned in reliable performances throughout the '50s (including a star turn as magician Harry Houdini in 1953's Houdini), building an onscreen persona that was part charming rogue and part earnest, sensitive hunk. Meanwhile, his marriage to actress Janet Leigh (1951-62) made him a favorite of fan magazines and gossip columns. In 1959 he earned an Oscar nomination for The Defiant Ones (1958, with Curtis handcuffed to Sidney Poitier), and in 1960 he co-starred with Kirk Douglas in the Roman Empire epic Spartacus. Curtis specialized in light comedies during the 1960s, including The Great Race (1965) and Arrivederci, Baby (1968, with Nancy Kwan), but his memorable turn as the killer in The Boston Strangler (1968, with Henry Fonda) reaffirmed his dramatic skills. Since then Curtis has worked sporadically in the movies and on television, including the feature films The Last Tycoon (1976) and Sextette (1978, with Mae West), and the TV cult favorite The Persuaders (1971, with Roger Moore).
Curtis and Janet Leigh were the parents of actresses Kelly Curtis (b. 1956) and Jamie Lee Curtis... He's has been married six times in all. He married his sixth wife, Jill Vanden Berg, in 1998... Curtis is an accomplished painter... He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-45.
Born: Jun 03, 1925 in Bronx, New York City, New York
Occupation: Actor
Active: '50s-'90s
Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
Career Highlights: Some Like It Hot, Sweet Smell of Success, The Scarlett O'Hara War
First Major Screen Credit: City Across the River (1949)
Biography
Originally dismissed as little more than a pretty boy, Tony Curtis overcame a series of bad reviews and undistinguished pictures to emerge as one of the most successful actors of his era, appearing in a number of the most popular and acclaimed films of the late '50s and early '60s. Born Bernard Schwartz on June 3, 1925, in New York City, he was the son of an impoverished Hungarian-born tailor, and was a member of an infamous area street gang by the age of 11. During World War II, Curtis served in the navy, and was injured while battling in Guam. After the war, he returned to New York to pursue a career in acting, touring the Borscht circuit before starring in a Greenwich Village revival of Golden Boy. There Curtis came to the attention of Universal, who signed him to a seven-year contract. In 1948, he made his film debut, unbilled, in the classic Robert Siodmak noir Criss Cross. A series of bit roles followed, and he slowly made his way up through the studio's ranks.
While 1950's Kansas Raiders was nominally headlined by Brian Donlevy, Curtis was, for many, the real draw; dark and handsome, he was hugely popular with teens and fan-magazine readers, and his haircut alone was so admired that Universal was receiving upwards of 10,000 letters a week asking for a lock of his hair. There was even a contest, "Win Tony Curtis for a week." Clearly, he was on the brink of stardom and earned top billing in his next picture, 1951's The Prince Who Was a Thief, which co-starred another up-and-comer, Piper Laurie. Despite his surging popularity, however, he still had much to learn about his craft and spent the remainder of the year training in voice, dramatics, and gymnastics. In 1952, Curtis finally returned to the screen as a boxer in Flesh and Fury. Two more pictures with Laurie, No Room for the Groom and Son of Ali Baba, followed. In 1953 Paramount borrowed Curtis to portray Houdini, which cast him opposite his wife, Janet Leigh.
Despite continued -- albeit measured -- box-office success, Curtis was roundly panned by critics for his performances, a problem exacerbated by Universal's reliance on formula filmmaking. Pictures like 1954's Beachhead (a war drama), Johnny Dark (an auto-racing tale), and The Black Shield of Falworth (a medieval saga) were all by-the-numbers products. Finally, in 1956 United Artists borrowed him for the Burt Lancaster vehicle Trapeze; not only was it Curtis' first serious project, but it was also his first true commercial smash, resulting in another long-term Universal package. Still, the studio cast him in low-rent programmers like The Rawhide Years and The Midnight Story, and he was forced to fight executives to loan him out. Lancaster tapped him to co-star in 1957's The Sweet Smell of Success, and the resulting performance won Curtis the best reviews of his career. Similar kudos followed for The Vikings, co-starring Kirk Douglas, and Kings Go Forth, a war story with Frank Sinatra.
In 1958, Curtis and Sidney Poitier starred in Stanley Kramer's social drama The Defiant Ones as a pair of escaped convicts -- one white, the other black, both manacled together -- who must overcome their prejudices in order to survive; their performances earned both men Academy Award nominations (the only such nod of Curtis' career), and was among the most acclaimed and profitable films of the year. He returned to Universal a major star and a much better actor; upon coming back, he first starred in a Blake Edwards comedy, The Perfect Furlough, then made the best film of his career -- 1959's Some Like It Hot, a masterful Billy Wilder comedy which cast him and Jack Lemmon as struggling musicians forced to dress in drag to flee the mob. Curtis next starred with his avowed idol, Cary Grant, in Edwards' comedy Operation Petticoat, another massive hit followed in 1960 by Who Was That Lady? with Leigh and Dean Martin.
For director Stanley Kubrick, Curtis co-starred in the 1960 epic Spartacus, followed a year later by The Great Impostor. He delivered a strong performance in 1961's The Outsider, but the film was drastically edited prior to release and was a box-office disaster. After exiting the Gina Lollobrigida picture Lady L prior to production, Curtis made a brief appearance in John Huston's acclaimed The List of Adrian Messenger before appearing opposite Gregory Peck in Captain Newman, M.D. With second wife Christine Kauffman, he starred in 1964's Wild and Wonderful, which was reported to be his last film for Universal. Curtis then focused almost solely on comedy, including Goodbye Charlie, the big-budget The Great Race, and, with Jerry Lewis, Boeing Boeing. None were successful, and he found his career in dire straits; as a result, he battled long and hard to win the against-type title role in 1968's The Boston Strangler, earning good critical notices.
However, Curtis returned to comedy, again with disappointing results: The 1969 Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies was the unsuccessful follow-up to the hit Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, while 1970's Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? found even fewer takers. Curtis then attempted a 1971 television series, The Persuaders, but it lasted barely a season. In 1973, he toured in the play Turtlenecks and appeared in the TV movie The Third Girl on the Left. That summer he announced his retirement from films, but was back onscreen for 1975's Lepke. Curtis also attempted another TV series, McCoy, but it too was unsuccessful. In 1976, he appeared in the all-star drama The Last Tycoon, and published a novel, Kid Cody and Julie Sparrow. In 1978, he was also a regular on the hit series Vega$. Ultimately, the decades to come were no more successful than the 1970s, and although Curtis continued to work prolifically, his projects lacked distinction. Still, he remained a well-liked Hollywood figure, and was also the proud father of actress Jamie Lee Curtis. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
(born June 3, 1925, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film actor. He appeared on Broadway before going to Hollywood in 1949. He acted in adventure films, becoming known for his pretty face and his Bronx accent, then earned acclaim for his roles in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and The Defiant Ones (1958). His success in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot (1959) was followed by roles in other light comedies in the 1960s. He continued to perform onstage and in films into the 21st century.
Tony Curtis (b. Bernard Schwartz, June 3, 1925) is
an American film actor. Famous for his thick black wavy hair, good looks, flashing long
eyelashes and trademark New York accent, he was most popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his
light comic roles, especially his musician on the run from gangsters in Some Like It
Hot (1959). He has also essayed a number of more serious dramatic roles over the years, such as his escaped convict in
The Defiant Ones (1958), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He has appeared in over 100 films since 1949, and
has also made frequent television appearances.
Biography
Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz, the son of Jewish
Hungarian (from the city of Mátészalka, Szatmár)
immigrants Emanuel and Helen Schwartz, in the Bronx, New York. His father was a tailor who had left his home country to find a new life in the United States. In the early days the family lived in the back of his tailor's shop, parents in one corner
and Tony and his brothers Julius and Robert in another. Curtis has said of his mother in interview ' When I was a child she beat
me up and was very aggressive, antagonistic.' His mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental illness which also affected his brother Robert and led to his institutionalization. When Curtis was 8, he and his younger brother Julius were placed in an
orphanage for one month because their parents could not afford to feed them. There were more hard times to come. When Curtis was
13, Julius was hit by a truck and died. It fell to Tony to identify the body. He has said that he still keeps his brother's cap
and school books because that's all that's left of him. With the realities of real life all too harsh, a young Curtis sought
refuge in the cinema.
'When I was a child, I used to go to the movies and became enthralled by all the fencing, horseback riding, kissing the girls.
I said to myself "Why can't I do that?"
Between 1942 and 1945 Curtis served in the U.S. Navy aboard the submarine tender, the USS PROTEUS. He witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo
Bay in September 1945, from a vantage point of 300 yards away.[1] After his service in the Navy, the young Curtis studied acting alongside Elaine Stritch, Walter Matthau and Rod Steiger. To use his own words, he got into the movies because he was 'the handsomest of the boys.'
Arriving in Hollywood in 1948 aged 23 he was put under contract to Universal Pictures and had his name changed to Tony Curtis. The studio sent him to fencing and riding
lessons, but Curtis admits he was only interested in girls and money.
Originally seen as just another pretty boy, he nonetheless proved he had very significant acting talent with many impressive
performances in outstanding films such as the role of the scheming press agent Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success, along with Burt Lancaster,
and an Oscar-nominated performance as a bigoted escaped convict chained to
Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones.
Tony Curtis was so popular as a screen hunk during the 1950s that Elvis Presley[2] copied his ducktail (DA) hairstyle after seeing it on
screen.
Curtis has also appeared frequently on television; he co-starred with Roger Moore in the
TV seriesThe Persuaders!. He later
starred in McCoy and Vega$. He made his
screen debut, uncredited, in Criss Cross playing a rumba dancer. He also provided the voice of "Stony Curtis" as a guest star on The Flintstones.
All his life, Curtis has enjoyed painting, and since the early 1980s, has had a second career as a painter. His work can command more than £25000 a canvas now and it is on his career in paint that he now
focuses rather than movies. 'I still make movies but I'm not that interested any more. I paint all the time.' In 2007 his painting The Red Table will be on display in the Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan.
Curtis has spoken of his disappointment in never being awarded an Oscar 'I've never
felt that my profession has recognized me for my work.' In March 2006, Curtis received the Sony
Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame and received France's honor, the Order of Arts and Letters, in 1995.
Relationships
Tony Curtis has been married six times. His first (and most famous) wife was the actress Janet
Leigh (1927–2004), to whom he was married for 11 years (1951-1962), and with whom he fathered actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and
Kelly Curtis. He said of their relationship, "For a while, we were Hollywood's golden
couple. I was very dedicated and devoted to Janet. I was on top of my trade, but in her eyes that goldenness had started to wear
off. I realised that whatever I was, I wasn't enough for Janet. That hurt me a lot and broke my heart."
His son, Nicholas (with Leslie Allen), died of a heroin overdose on July 2, 1994 at the age of
23. Of this, Curtis has said, "As a father you don't recover from that. There isn't a moment at night that I don't remember
him."
About his sexuality, Curtis purportedly stated in a 2002 interview with British gay magazine attitude, "I was 22 when I arrived in Hollywood in 1948. I had more action than Mount Vesuvius;
men, women, animals! I loved it too. I participated where I wanted to and didn't where I didn't. I've always been open about it."
[1]
His current wife is 42 years his junior. They met in a restaurant in 1993 and married in 1998. "The age gap doesn't bother us.
We laugh a lot. My body is functioning and everything is good. She's the sexiest woman I've ever known. We don't think about
time. I don't use Viagra either. There are 50 ways to please your lover."
Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under
Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
Curtis and Roger Moore in The Persuaders! (1971/72).
In late 2005, Curtis voiced criticism of the film Brokeback Mountain, stating that he had no intention of seeing it.
Being measured for their costumes for Some Like It Hot, the designer
apparently said after measuring Marilyn "you know Tony has a better-looking ass than you do." To which Monroe opened her blouse
and said "Yeah, but he doesn't have tits like these!"
Curtis has reportedly enjoyed watching science fiction for decades, and is a fan of
the Britishscience fictioncomedytelevision seriesRed
Dwarf (1988). In 1994, this show achieved its highest accolade so far, winning an
International Emmy Award for the Outstanding Popular Arts category. Curtis was 69 at the time
and presented the award to Robert Llewellyn (who played Kryten in the show). In Red Dwarf Series V episode, "The Inquisitor", the character Rimmer remarks on
Kryten and Lister being manacled together, "Look, they come here with some cock-and-bull story, they're chained together like
Sidney Poiter and Tony Curtis -- I say open the door to oblivion and kick 'em through."
In 1994 Tony Curtis appeared in a South Korean drama called "Land of the People" about Korean immigrants to Mexico. He played
a ranch owner and his segments were filmed on location in Mexico. To date he is the most famous Western star to appear in a South
Korean drama.
On the March 17 edition of Soccer AM Big Stan
Hibbert finally told his rendition of the 'Tony Curtis Gag'[clarify] which led to fireworks exploding and applause heard around the world. He was then
showered in flowers from the watching audience and show crew and almost forgot to do his trademark ‘centrifugal force’
celebration.[clarify]
Tony Curtis is currently doing much to help save horses from slaughter through his wife's (Jill Curtis') Shiloh Horse Rescue
in Sandy Valley, Nevada.
Curtis, Tony; Barry
Paris (1993). Tony Curtis: The Autobiography. New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN
978-0-688-09759-2.
Ayres, Ian (2006). Van Gogh's Ear: The Celebrity
Edition (includes Tony Curtis's prose/poetry/artwork). Paris: French Connection. ISBN 978-2-914-85307-1.
